Architecture for Implementing the Mobile Government Services in Korea

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S. Wang et al. (Eds.): ER Workshops 2004, LNCS 3289, pp. 601–612, 2004. 
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2004 
Architecture for Implementing
the Mobile Government Services in Korea 
Yoojung Kim
1
, Jongsoo Yoon
2
, Seungbong Park
3
, and Jaemin Han
3
1
IT Infrastructure Division, National Computerization Agency, Seoul, Korea 
[e-mail] 
2
College of Business Administration, Kangnam University, Gyeonggi-Do, Korea 
[e-mail] 
3
School of Business, Korea University, Seoul, Korea 
{sbpark,jaemin}@korea.ac.kr 
Abstract. Each nation’s architecture for the m-Government including Korea’s 
is being laid out somewhat differently according to its strategy, approach, and 
its own structural conditions and challenges. Despite such differences, all of 
them are making numerous efforts to establish the advanced service architec-
ture for the m-Government. In the meantime, they are confused in securing and 
managing strategic resources which are needed to create constant mobile val-
ues, diversifying wired and wireless connection sections, and dealing with tech-
nological complexities and differences in various kinds of mobile technologies. 
Therefore, this study proposes the m-Government service architecture, which 
can effectively provide nationwide m-Governmental services. It also defines 
key components of the m-Government service architecture and specific charac-
teristics of applied technologies.
1 Introduction 
Mobile government (m-Government) has been designed to provide the public with 
more efficient mobile administrative services and more convenient access to public 
services anytime and anywhere through the wireless Internet. In an attempt to ad-
vance e-Government services and expand customer channels, this system is being put 
in place in some of the European nations, the United States, and Korea, all of which 
have succeeded in establishing advanced wireless Internet environments [3]. 
Some European countries such as Sweden have attempted m-Government in many 
different practical applications and Canada is proceeding with their m-Government 
project focusing on mobile (wireless) portal. In the United States, federal and local 
governments have taken the lead and emphasis has been placed on the wireless and 
mobile technology in order to develop applications for public safety and response, 
such as assistance for field staffs, information sharing, staff monitoring, and mainte-
nance of network communications [3]. 
In the case of Korea, the number of wired Internet subscribers reached 29.22 mil-
lion as of December 2003, and 33.093 million as of March 2004. As the first nation in 

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602 Yoojung Kim et al. 
the world that succeeded in commercializing the CDMA technology, Korea has now 
become fully equipped with the 3G mobile communications infrastructure such as 
cdma20001x EV-DO and W-CDMA with maximum transmitting speeds of 2.4 Mbps 
[6]. In addition, it has become more efficient and convenient to use the Internet and 
search and process information through mobile terminals, thanks to the faster spread 
of mobile virtual machines and further development of multimedia supportive tech-
nologies [9]. 
Based on these circumstantial advantages, the number of mobile businesses using 
the wireless Internet is growing and the informatization process is being rapidly 
adopted by the business sector. The m-Government is also being swiftly established 
in an effort to advance the wired e-Government service which was first launched in 
2002. 
Korea is applying mobile technologies to government agencies and each agency 
has a mobile page, similar to a web page, exclusively for the mobile terminals. A 
common gateway and platform are also in the process of being mapped out for the m-
Government as well. 
In the meantime, Korean local governments and governmental agencies have se-
lectively adopted the mobile electronic signature systems and mobile field force 
automation service, by using the wireless Internet infrastructure and platforms of 
private mobile telecommunications service providers [5]. However, they have been 
facing various challenges and limits to applying these mobile technologies to the 
public sector. Specifically, they are having difficulties in securing and managing 
strategic resources which are needed to create constant mobile values, diversifying 
wired and wireless connection sections, and dealing with technological complexities 
and differences in various kinds of mobile technologies. Also, the waste of resources 
caused by overlapping development and vulnerability of the nation’s information 
security are other urgent problems to address. To cope with these challenges, debates 
are heated in the Korean government to find a way to build public G/W and platforms 
of the m-Government service. 
In short, each nation’s architecture for the m-Government including Korea’s is be-
ing laid out somewhat differently according to its strategy, its own structural condi-
tions and challenges. Despite such differences, all of them are making numerous 
efforts to establish the advanced service architecture for the m-Government [3]. 
Therefore, this study takes a close look at current moves around the world to 
launch m-Government services and infrastructure, while comprehensively examining 
references related to this issue. By doing so, it come up with possible solutions to 
challenges that Korea is facing in implementing e-Government services, and thereby 
draft a blueprint best suited for Korea. The specific goal of the study is to propose the 
m-Government service architecture, which can effectively provide nationwide m-
Governmental services. It also defines key components of the m-Government service 
architecture and specific characteristics of applied technologies.